The University of Central Missouri has a wealth of dedicated faculty and staff who have background in many subject areas and are willing to serve as expert sources for media or share their knowledge with groups and individuals who may be interested in various topics. While this guide is not inclusive of all faculty at UCM, these individuals are willing to share information about the main subjects they teach or areas of research in which they may have a great passion.
We hope you will consider using UCM’s expert faculty resources. If you do not find
a source for a topic in which you are interested, please do not hesitate to contact
Alex Greenwood, Director of University Communications and Media Relations, at 660-543-4640
or jgreenwood@ucmo.edu.
Melissa Abner
Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of Fashion and Apparel Merchandising
660-543-8725
mabner@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Ethical Fashion, Fashion History, Visual Merchandising and Store Design, Fashion Marketing and Promotion, Fashion Trends, Retail Strategies and Retail Models, Entrepreneurship in Fashion
Other Areas: Wholesale Markets for Fashion Products, Small Businesses, Buying
Micah Alpaugh
Associate Professor of History
816-730-7589
alpaugh@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: American, British and World History, European Politics, Protests and Social Movements
Peculiar Awa
Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology
660-543-8859
awa@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Crime, Human Rights
Other Areas: Family Dynamics, Girl-child Education
Natalia Bailey
Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education
660-543-4434
nbailey@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Mathematics Education and Training of Future PreK-12 Teachers, Professional Development in Mathematics Education of Teachers
Other Areas: Social Justice and Mathematics, Curriculum and Instruction, Professional Development of Teachers in Different Cultural Contexts (Especially Guatemala)
Amanda Bradbury
Instructor of Finance
660-543-8576
bradbury@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Personal Finance, Principles of Finance and Macroeconomics
Jackie Brandhorst
Assistant Professor of Business Communication
417-838-3662
brandhorst@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Organizational Communication
Rene Burress
Assistant Professor (Associate after Aug 1, 2021) and Program Coordinator of Library
Science and Information Services
660-543-4910
Burress@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Libraries, Librarians
Other Areas: Genealogy, Educational Technology, Educational Assessment
Jennifer Varriale Carson
Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology
Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology
301-273-5176
jcarson@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Terrorism, Ideologically-Driven Movements in the U.S., Criminal Justice Policy
Sang-Wook Cha
Assistant Professor of Developmental Biology
660-543-4976
cha@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Embryology, Histology, Genetics
Other Areas: Genome Editing, Aquatic Animal Husbandry, Bioinformatics
Joyce Chang
Professor of Child and Family Development Program
660-543-4932
chang@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Impact of Technology on Family, Optimal Use of Technology
Other Areas: Marriage and Family, Relationship Development, Resilience
Scott Chenault
Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology
660-543-4951
chenault@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Corrections, Correctional Programming, Correctional Staff
Other Areas: First-Generation College Student Experience and Success
Yeok-il (Eddie) Cho
Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology
660-543-4742
cho@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Research Methods, Comparative CJ Systems, Statistical Modeling
Other Areas: Study Abroad, Cyberbullying
Amber Clifford
Professor of Anthropology and Director of McClure Archives and University Museum
660-543-4877
clifford@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Culture, Diversity and Equity, Gender and Sexuality, Museums, Bedouin, University History, LGBTQ+ Issues and Concerns, Disability Issues and Concerns
Angela Collins
Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology
660-543-4348
acollins@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Juvenile Justice, Delinquency, Criminological Theory
Other Areas: Mental Health
Belinda Copus
Assistant Professor of Computer Science
660-543-4954
copus@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Pedagogy for Introductory Computer Programming, Neo-piagetian and Constructivist Learning Theories, Cognitive Apprenticeship Theory
Other Areas: Increasing Participation and Retention for Women and Underrepresented Minorities in Computer Science
Stan Elliott
Project Facilitator, MIC, MIC Initiative Operations
660-543-8256
elliott@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Missouri Innovation Campus Program
Nabat Erdogan
Assistant Professor and ELL Program Coordinator
(660)-543-4230
erdogan@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), Linguistics
Other Areas: Comparative Typological Linguistics, Linguistics, Syntax, Phonetics, Second Language and languages (Azerbaijani, Turkish, Russian, and English)
Gregg Etter
Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology
660-543-8902
etter@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Gangs, Organized Crime, Policing, Extremist Group
Nancy Forth
Professor and Program Coordinator for Counselor Education
660-543-8093
nforth@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Counseling, Mental Health, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, School Counseling
Other Areas: Stress Management, Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault Recovery
Tony Gasaway
Instructional Faculty and Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology
660-543-4294
gasaway@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Law Enforcement Leadership
Other Areas: U.S. Marshals
Daniel Gilhooly
Assistant Professor of Literacy
848-223-5993
gilhooly@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Refugee Resettlement, Teaching English to Students of Other Languages (TESOL), Ethnography on the Karen of Burma, Participatory Action Research
Other Areas: Amateur Documentary Filmmaking
Krystle Gremaud
Assistant Professor of Career and Technology Teacher Education Program Coordinator
660-543-4647
kgremaud@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Family Consumer Sciences, Business Education, Agriculture Education, Engineering & Technology Education, Career and Technical Education
Other Areas: Online Teaching, Virtual Observations, Community Education
Jaimee Hartenstein
Assistant Professor of Child and Family Development and Program Coordinator
660-543-8358
hartenstein@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Child and Family Development, Human Development and Family Science
Other Areas: Divorce, Child Custody, Coparenting Relationships and Communication, Parent-child Relationships in Divorced and Remarried Family Structures, Qualitative Research
Lauren Hays
Assistant Professor of Educational Technology
Program Coordinator
Department of Educational Technology and Library Science
660-543-8615
lauhays@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Educational Technology, Online Learning, Digital Literacy
Other Areas: Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Education, Media Literacy, Information Literacy
Blaise Heider
Assistant Professor of Mathematics
660-543-4730
heider@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Non-Commutative Ring and Module Theory
Other Areas: Algebra, Functional Analysis, Algebraic Topology, Advanced Skills in Formatting Documents such as Exams, Assignments, Syllabi, etc., in LaTeX
Jason Holland
Professor of Chemistry and Biochemist
660-543-8714
holland@umco.edu
Main Areas: Nucleic Acid Structure and Stability
Jiaqi Huang
Assistant Professor of Cybersecurity and Information Technology
660-543-8865
jhuang@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Wireless Security, Internet of Vehicles
Other Areas: 5G Wireless Communications, Modeling of Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks
Dan Jensen
Associate Professor of Management and MBA Director
660-543-8039
jensen@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Management and Entrepreneurship
Other Areas: Strategy, Organization Development, Change Management, Career Management
Odin Jurkowski
Professor of Instructional Technology
Department of Educational Technology and Library Science
660-543-8678
jurkowski@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Educational Technology, Libraries, Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Media Links: KCUR, "Teachers and a Legislator 'Chat' About Missouri Facebook Law"
Taeghyun Kang
Assistant Professor of Computer Science
660-543-8315
tkang@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Software Engineering
Other Areas: Software Engineering, Fault Tolerance, Software Application Development, Industry Experiences, Samsung
Ryan Kim
Assistant Professor of Sports Management and Program Coordinator
660-543-4781
kykim@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Sport Management
Other Areas: Measurement and Evaluation, Meta-analysis
David Kreiner
Professor, Psychological Science
660-543-8076
kreiner@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Cognitive Psychology, Memory
Robynn Kuhlmann
Associate Professor of Political Science and State Government Internship Coordinator
660-543-8307
Kuhlmann@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: State Politics, Voting and Elections
Other Areas: Term Limits, State Legislatures, Voting Behavior, Election Administration
Joanne Kurt-Hilditch
Senior Director of Missouri Safety Center
660-543-4213
kurt-hilditch@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Corrections, Law Enforcement, Grants, Impaired Driving, Highway and Traffic Safety, Training, Ethics, Leadership
Other Areas: Substance Abuse Counseling, Criminal Justice Research, Association and Board Membership
Scott Lankford
Chair of School of Natural Sciences and Professor of Biology
660-543-8827
lankford@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Fish Physiology, Vertebrate Stress Physiology, Reproductive Physiology, Endocrinology
Other Areas: Sustainable Aquaculture, Aquaponics, Marine Biology
Mark Lee
Assistant Professor of School of Teaching and Learning
816-719-6097
jmlee@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Secondary Content Instruction and Classroom Management
Other Areas: Choral Music and Solo Voice Instruction, K-12 Building and District Administration
Kathleen Leicht
Professor of English and Associate Dean for College of Arts, Humanities and Social
Sciences and Interim Head of Theatre and Dance
660-543-8209
leicht@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: British Literature, English Novel, London Theatre 1660-1800
Other Areas: Old-time Fiddle Music, Mountain Dulcimer Music
Joseph Lewandowski
Professor of Philosophy
660-543-4628
lewandowski@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Democracy, Urbanism, Inequality, Sports Ethics and Culture
Julia Lewis
Instructor for Communication
Muleskinner (Student Newspaper) Adviser
660-543-4050
jlewis@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Journalism, Mass Communication, Strategic Communication, Media, Multimedia, Study Abroad, Journalism Education
Other Areas: Policy Development Using Primarily Qualitative Methods
Doug Longhofer
Assistant Professor of Accountancy
660-543-8560
dlonghofer@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Federal Taxation of Business Entities
Kyle Lovercamp
Associate Professor of Biology and Agriculture and Animal Scientist
660-543-8094
klovercamp@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Swine Reproductive Physiology
Other Areas: Farm Animal Production, Nutrition and Genetics
Mike Makara
Assistant Professor, Political Science
660-543-8948
makara@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Middle Eastern Studies
Daniel Marschalek
Assistant Professor of Entomology
(660) 543-8880
marschalek@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Entomology, Ecology, Conservation, Population Monitoring
Other Areas: Butterflies, Blister Beetles, Decomposition, Pollination
Shannon McCarthy
Assistant Professor of Marketing
660-543-8192
smccarthy@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Marketing Research, Sports Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Consumer-Brand Connection, Crisis Communication
Ann McCoy
Vice Provost, Academic Programs and Services
Dean of College of Education
660-543-4235
mccoy@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Education
Annie McCoy
Assistant Professor of Marketing
660-232-1317
anmccoy@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Digital Marketing, Advertising, Branding and Marketing Design
Phoebe McLaughlin
Chair of the Department of Math, Actuarial Science, and Statistics
Professor of Statistics and Mathematics
Department of Math, Actuarial Science, and Statistics
660-543-4790
pmclaughlin@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Financial Mathematics, Probability, Statistics, Semigroups
Other Areas: Actuarial Exams Preparation, Actuarial Career Advising and Planning, Math Pathways and Corequisites Developments
Ashley Miller-Scully
Professor and Chair of Theatre and Dance
School of Visual and Performing Arts, Division of Theatre and Dance
660-543-8798
almiller@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Dance and Musical Theatre
Other Areas: Choreography, Professional Auditions, Professional Theatre & Dance Affiliations, Summer Stock Work
Jennifer Mittelhauser
Biology Instructor
660-543-8877
mittelhauser@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Wildlife, Ecology, Aquatic Insects, Botany, Herpetology
Joseph Moore
Chair of the Department of Communication & Digital Media Productions
660-543-4923
jhmoore@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Sports Reporting
Other Areas: Leadership
Michael Mulhall
Assistant Professor of Safety Sciences
660-543-8995
mulhall@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Management of Hazardous Materials, Resource Conservation and Recovery, Hazardous Materials Clean-up, Herbicide-Pesticide Management
Other Areas: Workers Compensation and Fair Labor Standards, Agricultural Safety, Food Manufacturing
Selene Nikaido
Associate Professor of Biology and Molecular Biologist
660-543-4324
nikaido@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Molecular Biology, Genetics
Other Areas: Genome Annotation, CUREs, Gene Identification, Bioinformatics, Plant Population Genetics
Joshua Nygren
Chair and Associate Professor of History
Department of History
660-543-8738
nygren@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Agriculture and Sustainability, especially as it relates to soil and water conservation; Environmental History (environmental policy, activism, land use, etc.); 20th Century U.S. Political, Social and Economic History
Media Links: Author, "The State of Conservation"
Anna Oller
Professor of Biology, Microbiologist
660-543-4934
oller@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Microbiology, Bacteria, Parasites, Molecular Biology, Medical Laboratory Sciences
Other Areas: Tick-borne Illnesses, Fermentation
Dawn (Cassandra) Pauling
Biology Instructor and Wildlife Disease Biologist
660-543-8027
pauling@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Wildlife Disease, Infectious Disease, Disease Ecology, Plague Sylvatic Cycle, Yersinia Pestis, Pathogens
Other Areas: Microbial Genetics, Immunology, Population Health Assessments, Necropsy, Field Surveillance for Wildlife Disease, Trapping, GIS
Rajkumar Pandiyampa
Assistant Professor of Computer Information Systems
660-262-8552
pandiyampa@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Cybersecurity for Cloud and Networked Systems
Narasimha S. Paravastu
Associate Professor of CIS and Analytics
660-441-8244
paravastu@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Databases, Data Management, Information Systems Security, Programming Languages and Programming Frameworks in C#, Android, JavaScript, Web Development, Project Management, and Strategic Management of Information Technology
Other Areas: Technology Trust and Interpersonal Trust as It Applies to Information Systems, Information Systems Security, Bystander Theory, Protection Motivation Theory and Fear Appeals as It Applies to IS and Security
Melissa Petkovsek
Associate Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology
660-543-4270
petkovsek@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Biological Risk Factors, Correlations of Crime, Particularly Violent and Serious Antisocial Behavior, the Impact of Strain and Stress on Mental Health and Behavior
Other Areas: Issues in Forensic Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Study Abroad
Paul Plummer
Assistant Professor of Statistics
660-543-4433
pplummer@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Statistics, Statistics Education, Change Point Analysis in Relation to DNA Gene Expression Data
Other Areas: Opportunities in Actuarial Science, Statistics, Bioinformatics
Georgi Popov
Professor and Interim Chair of Geoscience, Physics and Safety
660-543-4208
gpopov@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Risk Assessment and Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)
Other Areas: Environmental Management, Air Quality
Sam Ramanujan
Professor of Computer Information Systems and Analytics, Graduate Coordinator for
CIS&IT and BDA&IT
660-441-0496
ramanujan@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Advanced Object-Oriented Programing, Software Engineering, Software Development, Big Data Architecture, Visual Analytics, Developing and Deploying Complex Systems
Other Areas: Industry Experiences, Legal Issues in Information Technology
Ronnie Rollins
Associate Professor, School of Technology
660-543-4086
rollins@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Technology
Prasad S Rudramuniyaiah
Assistant Professor of Computer Information Systems and Analytics,
660-441-1161
rudramuniyaiah@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Business Intelligence, Analytics, Knowledge Management and Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (SAP)
Mohammad Sadi
Assistant Professor of Engineering Technology
660-543-4032
sadi@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Electric Power System and Electronics
Other Areas: Digital Electronics and Power Electronics
Michael Sawyer
Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
660-543-4750
msawyer@ucmo.edu
Main Area: Liberal Arts, Visual and Performing Arts
Charlie Schwepker
Randall and Kelly Harbert Marketing Professor in Harmon College of Business and Professional
Studies
660-543-8554
schwepker@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Marketing
Other Areas: Professional Selling, Sales Management, Sales Ethics
James (Jim) Staab
Professor of Political Science
660-543-8825
staab@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Constitutional Law, Supreme Court, Civil Rights, Liberties, and the American Presidency
Other Areas: Different Ways of Interpreting the Constitution
Jay Steinkruger
Chair of the Department of Physical Sciences
Professor of Chemistry
Department of Physical Sciences
660-543-4432
steinkruger@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Protein Folding Thermodynamics, Organic Synthesis, Materials Chemistry, Chemistry Education
George Tart
MMSP Program Coordinator
660-543-4687
tart@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Motorcycle Safety and Motorcycle Instructor Trainer
Other Areas: Official High School Basketball
Jon Taylor
Professor of History
660-543-4582
jtaylor01@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Life, Political Career and Legacy of Harry S. Truman, Missouri History
Other Areas: National Park Service, Historic Preservation, Public History
Doug Thomas
Professor of Educational Leadership and Program Coordinator
660-543-8834
thomas@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Charter Schools
Other Areas: Educational Leadership, Middle Level Education
Wesley Tinker
Assistant Professor of Safety Sciences
660-543-8953
wtinker@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Safety and Health
Other Areas: Education, Emergency Management, Emergency Medicine, Customer Service (Internal and External), Career Management, Continuous Improvement, Management
Greg Turner
Professor and Program Coordinator for the Communication Disorders Program
660-543-8799
Turner@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Anatomy and Physiology of Speaking, Speech Acoustics, Fluency Disorders (Stuttering), Motor Speech Disorders
Lynn Urban
Professor and Chair of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology
Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology
660-543-4188
urban@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Juvenile Justice, Parenting from Prison, Academic and Program Evaluation
Media Links: Denver Post, "2 juveniles charged in mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade"
Lianwen Wang
Professor of Statistics
660-543-8870
lwang@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Data Mining, Time Series Modeling and Analysis, Differential Equations, Analysis
Other Areas: Undergraduate Research in Statistics and Mathematics, Graduate Thesis Supervision
Donald Wengler
Assistant Professor of Accountancy
660-543-4946
wengler@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Expert Witness and Litigation Consultant
Other Areas: Assisting Attorneys with Accounting Information and Data Analytics in Disputes Involving Business Damages, Business Interruption Lost Profits, Wrongful Death, and Personal Injury
Miaozong Wu
Associate Professor of Safety and Industrial Hygiene and Program Coordinator of Master
of Science in Occupational Safety Management
660-543-4411
miawu@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Occupational Safety, Health and Industrial Hygiene
Other Areas: Electrical safety, On-site/Virtual Training for Industries, Musculoskeletal Disorders
Linrui Zhang
Assistant Professor of Computer Science
660-543-8690
lzhang@ucmo.edu
Main Areas: Natural Language Processing (NLP), Neural Network and Deep Learning
Other Areas: Commercial-Level NLP Software Development, Students Research Supervision
University Relations
Administration 302
Warrensburg, MO
Tel: (660) 543-4640
Fax: (660) 543-4943